Salvador "Sal" Sánchez Narváez (January 26, 1959 – August 12, 1982) was a Mexican

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

born in the town of

Santiago Tianguistenco Santiago Tianguistenco (), often simply called Santiago by locals, is a city located in Mexico State about thirty km south of the state capital of Toluca. It is the municipal seat for the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Tianguistenco. It ...

Estado de México The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mos ...

. Sanchez was the WBC and ''The Ring'' featherweight champion from 1980 to 1982. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that had it not been for his premature death, Sánchez could have gone on to become the greatest featherweight boxer of all time. Sánchez died on August 12, 1982, in a car accident while driving from Querétaro to San Luis Potosí. He is also the uncle of

Salvador Sánchez II Salvador Sánchez Castro (born 20 September 1985) is a Mexican professional boxer and nephew of boxing legend Salvador Sánchez. Professional career His first two fights were losses to undefeated boxers but has won 30 of his next 38 since then, w ...

. In 1991, Sánchez was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

. ''The Ring'' magazine named both him, and

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...

, as Fighter of the Year in 1981. In 2002, he was named the 24th greatest fighter of the past 80 years by ''The Ring'' magazine. In 2003, ''The Ring'' rated Sánchez number 88 on the list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Sánchez was voted as the #3 featherweight of the 20th century by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Early life

Sanchez was born to father Felipe Sanchez and to mother María Luisa Narvaez.

Professional career

Sánchez started his professional career at the age of 16, as a teenager (after a brief amateur career consisting of reportedly four amateur bouts) he started piling up wins against tough Mexican opposition. His first fight of note came in his 19th professional fight against the Mexican

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

champion Antonio Becerra. Becerra proved too experienced for the young Sánchez, the bout ended in a split decision defeat for Sánchez. Sánchez kept on fighting and moved to the Featherweight division. Soon he had beaten people like the Puerto Rican featherweight champion

Felix Trinidad Sr. Felix Trinidad Sr. is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer and prominent boxing trainer. Mostly remembered for training his son, International Boxing Hall of Fame member Félix Trinidad, Felix Trinidad Sr. nevertheless was a Featherweight boxer ...

, on his way to securing a title shot at world champion Danny "Little Red" Lopez, a popular TV fighter of the late 1970s who was an impressive fighter and had won some spectacular fights against the likes of former world champion

David Kotei David Kotei Poision (originating from the Kotei family; born 12 July 1943), popularly called "D.K. Poison", is a former world featherweight boxing champion between 1975 and 1976. He is the first Ghanaian professional boxer to win a world title. ...

(twice), Juan Malvares and

Mike Ayala Mike Ayala (born January 19, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1975 to 1991. He is the former NABF super bantamweight and NABF featherweight champion. Amateur career Ayala won the 1973 National Golden Gloves flywe ...

. Confident and hard to beat, Lopez was beaten by the 21-year-old Sánchez, who knocked out the defending champion in 13 rounds in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, United States on February 2, 1980. Sánchez defended his title for the first time with a 15-round unanimous decision against Ruben Castillo (47–1). Thinking it was just a case of '

beginner's luck Beginner's luck refers to the phenomenon of novices experiencing disproportionate frequency of success or succeeding against an expert in a given activity. One would expect experts to outperform novices - when the opposite happens it is counter-in ...

' (as it was Sánchez's first world title fight ever), Lopez looked for a rematch and this he got, in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. This time Sánchez defeated Lopez by 14th-round TKO. In his next fight, he defeated Patrick Ford (15–0) . On December 13, 1980, Sánchez defeated future champion

Juan Laporte Juan Laporte, also known as Juan La Porte (born November 24, 1959) is a former boxer who was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico. In 1982, La Porte won the vacant WBC featherweight title, forcing undefeated Colombian Mario "Martillo" Miranda to quit ...

by unanimous decision. Sánchez then defended his title against Roberto Castanon (43–1–0) and scored a win over Nicky Perez (50–3–0). Then undefeated World Jr Featherweight champion

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraSánchez retained the crown by a knockout in round eight on August 21, 1981, in Las Vegas, and Gómez had to return to the Jr. Featherweight division. With that victory, Salvador was an unknown to the casual

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

fan no more. He became a household name all over the United States that night. In his next fight, he defeated Olympic medalist Pat Cowdell by split decision. His defense vs unheralded Jorge "Rocky" Garcia was the second fight featuring two featherweights ever to be televised by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, the first having been his contest with Cowdell. He beat Garcia punch after punch, but the challenger gave honor to his nickname, an unknown fighter who lasts the distance with the world champion. On July 21, 1982, Sánchez faced future champion

Azumah Nelson Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958, affectionately known as the Professor) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. Nelson, a late substitute for

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight (in a mandatory defence) or be forced to vacate their title as champion. The opposite of a mandatory defence is a ''volunt ...

Mario Miranda, was unknown at the time however, and was expected to only go a few rounds with the champ. It was an intense battle, with Sánchez managing to drop his young charge in the 7th round. After that they engaged in violent exchange after violent exchange. In the 15th, Sánchez broke out finally, connecting with a serious combination that dropped the challenger almost outside the ring. Referee

Tony Perez Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

had to stop the fight seconds later.

went on to have a glittering career and was inducted into the

in 2004. Sánchez proved a dominant featherweight champion. He held title defense victories over the next three fighters (LaPorte, Gomez, and Nelson) who won the WBC title after his death. He went 4–0, all by knockout, against fellow members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame (Danny Lopez twice-KO 13, KO 14-Wilfredo Gomez-KO 8-and Azumah Nelson-KO 15) and defeated four future or former world champions (Lopez, Gomez, LaPorte and Nelson).

Death

Three weeks after his victory over Nelson, as he was training for a rematch with Laporte set for September, Sanchez crashed on the early morning of August 12, 1982, while driving his

Porsche 928 The Porsche 928 is a front-engine, water-cooled grand touring car, grand touring 2+2 (car body style), 2+2 hatchback coupe manufactured and marketed by Porsche AG of Germany from 1977 to 1995 — across a single generation with an intermedia ...

sports car along the federal highway between

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

and

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

, dying instantly. At the time of his death, there were talks about a bout with Colombian

Mario Miranda Mário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito Miranda (2 May 1926 – 11 December 2011), also known as Mario de Miranda, was an Indian cartoonist and painter based in Loutolim, Goa. He had been a regular with ''The Times of India'' and other news ...

, a rematch with Gómez or a challenge of world lightweight champion

Alexis Argüello Alexis Argüello (April 19, 1952 – July 1, 2009) was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA featherweight title from 1974 to 19 ...

. The latter was already off the table. There had been negotiations between the Sánchez and Argüello camps but they broke off when Argüello chose to campaign as a junior welterweight. Salvador Sánchez finished his career 44–1–1. Sánchez was posthumously inducted into the

in 1991.

Acting

Sánchez appeared as himself, albeit as a Junior Lightweight world champion, in the 1983 film '' The Last Fight'', released after his death. The movie was dedicated to him. In it, Sánchez shared scenes with

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

, who played a challenger to Sánchez's title.

Personal life

Sánchez had a wife, María Teresa, and two sons, Cristián Salvador and Omar. He also had a nephew,

, who was a professional boxer.

Professional boxing record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center , - !No !Result !Record !Opponent !Type !Round, time !Date !Location !Notes , -align=center , 46 , Win , 44–1–1 , align=left,

, TKO , 15 (15), , Jul 21, 1982 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 45 , Win , 43–1–1 , align=left, Jorge Garcia , UD , 15 , May 8, 1982 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 44 , Win , 42–1–1 , align=left, Pat Cowdell , SD , 15 , Dec 12, 1981 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 43 , Win , 41–1–1 , align=left,

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraAug 21, 1981 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 42 , Win , 40–1–1 , align=left, Nicky Perez , UD , 10 , Jul 11, 1981 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 41 , Win , 39–1–1 , align=left, Roberto Castañón , TKO , 10 (15), , Mar 22, 1981 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 40 , Win , 38–1–1 , align=left,

, UD , 15 , Dec 13, 1980 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 39 , Win , 37–1–1 , align=left, Patrick Ford , MD , 15 , Sep 13, 1980 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 38 , Win , 36–1–1 , align=left, Danny Lopez , TKO , 14 (15), , Jun 21, 1980 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 37 , Win , 35–1–1 , align=left, Ruben Castillo , UD , 15 , Apr 12, 1980 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 36 , Win , 34–1–1 , align=left, Danny Lopez , TKO , 13 (15), , Feb 2, 1980 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 35 , Win , 33–1–1 , align=left, Rafael Gandarilla , TKO , 5 (10) , Dec 15, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 34 , Win , 32–1–1 , align=left, Richard Rozelle , KO , 3 (10), , Sep 15, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 33 , Win , 31–1–1 , align=left,

Félix Trinidad Sr. Felix Trinidad Sr. is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer and prominent boxing trainer. Mostly remembered for training his son, International Boxing Hall of Fame member Félix Trinidad, Felix Trinidad Sr. nevertheless was a Featherweight boxer ...

, TKO , 5 (10) , Aug 7, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 32 , Win , 30–1–1 , align=left, Rosalio Muro , KO , 3 (10) , Jul 22, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 31 , Win , 29–1–1 , align=left, Fel Clemente , UD , 12 , Jun 17, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 30 , Win , 28–1–1 , align=left, Salvador Torres , TKO , 7 (10) , May 19, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 29 , Win , 27–1–1 , align=left, James Martinez , UD , 10 , Mar 13, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 28 , Win , 26–1–1 , align=left, Carlos Mimila , KO , 3 (10) , Feb 3, 1979 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 27 , Win , 25–1–1 , align=left, José Santana , TKO , 2 (10) , Dec 16, 1978 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 26 , Win , 24–1–1 , align=left, Edwin Alarcon , TKO , 9 (10) , Nov 21, 1978 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 25 , Win , 23–1–1 , align=left, Francisco Ponce , KO , 2 (10) , Sep 26, 1978 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 24 , Win , 22–1–1 , align=left, Hector Cortez , TKO , 7 (10) , Aug 13, 1978 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 23 , Win , 21–1–1 , align=left, José Sánchez , UD , 10 , Jul 1, 1978 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 22 , Draw , 20–1–1 , align=left, Juan Escobar , MD , 10 , Mar 15, 1978 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 21 , Win , 20–1 , align=left, Eliseo Cosme , PTS , 10 , Dec 5, 1977 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 20 , Win , 19–1 , align=left, José Luis Soto , PTS , 10 , Nov 11, 1977 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 19 , Loss , 18–1 , align=left, Antonio Becerra , SD , 12 , Sep 9, 1977 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 18 , Win , 18–0 , align=left, Rosalio Badillo , TKO , 5 (10) , May 21, 1977 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 17 , Win , 17–0 , align=left, Daniel Felizardo , KO , 5 (10) , Mar 12, 1977 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 16 , Win , 16–0 , align=left, Raúl López , TKO , 10 (10) , Feb 5, 1977 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 15 , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Antonio Leon , TKO , 10 (10) , Dec 25, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 14 , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Saul Montana , TKO , 9 (10) , Oct 31, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 13 , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Joel Valdez , TKO , 9 (10) , Aug 11, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 12 , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Pedro Sandoval , TKO , 9 (10) , Jul 5, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 11 , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Fidel Trejo , KO , 6 (10) , May 26, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 10 , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Jose Chavez , TKO , 7 (10) , Apr 24, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 9 , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Serafin Isidro Pacheco , TKO , 4 (8) , Mar 31, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 8 , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Javier Solis , TKO , 7 (8) , Feb 25, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 7 , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Juan Granados , TKO , 3 (8) , Jan 24, 1976 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 6 , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Fidel Trejo , UD , 8 , Dec 11, 1975 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 5 , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Candido Sandoval , TKO , 7 (8) , Nov 25, 1975 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 4 , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Cesar Lopez , KO , 4 (6) , Oct 19, 1975 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 3 , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Victor Martinez , KO , 2 (6) , Aug 10, 1975 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 2 , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Miguel Ortiz , KO , 3 (4) , May 25, 1975 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center , 1 , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Al Gardeno , KO , 3 (4) , May 4, 1975 , align=left, , align=left, , -align=center

Trivia

In the movie 21, Ben Campbell, played by

Jim Sturgess James Anthony Sturgess''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 16 May 1978) is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His first major role was as Jude in the musical romance drama film ''Acros ...

, introduces himself to a girl as Salvador Sánchez. Folk Rock band

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist M ...

recorded an eponymous song about Sanchez on their 2003 album ''

Ghosts of the Great Highway ''Ghosts of the Great Highway'' is the debut studio album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon, led by Red House Painters' founder Mark Kozelek, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album. The other members are Anthony Koutsos (form ...

''.

References

External links

Salvador Sánchez page
at the

Salvador Sánchez on the Ring Magazine Cover – November 1981 IssueThe Legend of Salvador Sanchez – Fight FanaticsSeconds Out Article
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Salvador 1959 births 1982 deaths Mexican male boxers Featherweight boxers International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Boxers from the State of Mexico World Boxing Council champions Road incident deaths in Mexico People from Santiago Tianguistenco 20th-century Mexican sportsmen